Activities

Make your own Weather Station or perform a play about the Water Cycle! This page includes activities to help you learn about weather. http://sln.fi.edu/weather/todo/todo.html

Make Your Own!

Meteorologists study the weather by recording and analyzing data. You can become an amateur meteorologist by building your own weather station and keeping a record of your measurements. After a while, you'll notice the weather patterns that allow meteorologists to forecast the weather.

Since weather happens outside, you'll need to construct your weather station inside of a weatherproof box. Find a sturdy plastic or wooden box that can be placed on its side. Before you take the box outside, attach a thermometer to the bottom of the box. Once you turn the box on its side, the thermometer will be in the back of the box, protected from direct weather conditions.

Take your box outside and find a safe, sturdy location on the north side of the building where it's shadiest. Position the box securely beside the building, perhaps on a brick foundation.

You can... ==K e e p Y o u r O w n W e a t h e r J o u r n a l==

Keep it neat.

At least once each day, you should record the measurements from each of your weather instruments in your weather station. Keep an orderly chart, like the one pictured, so that you'll be able to notice patterns in your weather data.

Sample Weather Journal

M a k e Y o u r O w n B a r o m e t e r

||

Sample barometer.
You'll need these materials: a glass or beaker with straight sides a ruler (12 inch) tape one foot of clear plastic tubing a stick of chewing gum water
Begin by standing the ruler in the glass and holding it against the side. Tape the ruler to the inside of the glass. Make sure that the numbers on the ruler are visible.
Stand the plastic tube against the ruler in the glass. Make sure that the tube is not touching the bottom of the glass by positioning the tube up a half inch on the ruler. Secure the tube by taping it to the ruler.
Chew the stick of gum so that it is soft. While you're chewing, fill the glass about half way with water. Use the plastic tube like a straw and draw some water half way up the tube. Use your tongue to trap the water in the tube. Quickly move the gum onto the top of the tube to seal it.
Make a mark on the ruler to record where the water level is in the tube. Each time you notice a change in the water level, make another mark. You'll notice, over time, that the water level rises and falls. Pay attention to the change in weather as the water level changes.
The water in the tube rises and falls because of air pressure exerted on the water in the glass. As the air presses down (increased atmospheric pressure) on the water in the glass, more water is pushed into the tube, causing the water level to rise. When the air pressure decreases on the water in the glass, some of the water will move down out of the tube, causing the water level to fall. The change in barometric pressure will help you to forecast the weather. Decreasing air pressure often indicates the approach of a low pressure area, which often brings clouds and precipitation. Increasing air pressure often means that a high pressure area is approaching, bringing with it clearing or fair weather
Make your own Hygrometer
The long thin hair.
You'll need these materials: a scrap piece of wood or flat styrofoam (about 9 inches long and 4 inches wide) a flat piece of plastic (about 3 inches long and 3 inches wide) thin enough that you can cut 2 small nails 3 long strands of human hair (about 8 inches long) a dime glue tape hammer scissors (strong enough to cut plastic)
The pointer.
First, cut the piece of plastic into a triangular shape (refer to pictures). Then, tape the dime onto the plastic, near the point. Poke one of the nails through the plastic pointer, near the base of the triangle. Wiggle the nail until the pointer moves freely and loosely around the nail. On the plastic pointer, between the dime and the nail hole, glue the hair strands to the plastic.
The diagram
Position the pointer on the wood or styrofoam base about three quarters of the way down the side. (Refer to picture.) Attach the nail to the base. The pointer must be able to turn easily around the nail. Attach the other nail to the base about one inch from the top of the base, in line with the pointer. Pull the hair strands straight and tight so that the pointer points parallel to the ground. That is, make sure the point of the pointer is perpendicular to the hair. The hair should hang perfectly vertical and the pointer should point perfectly horizontal. Glue the ends of the hair to the nail. If the hair is too long, trim the ends.
The human hair cells will indicate the level of moisture in the air by expanding and contracting. When their air is moist, the hair will expand and lengthen, making the pointer point down. When the air is dry, the hair will contract and shorten, making the pointer point up. When you make your hygrometer observations each day, you should make a mark to indicate where the pointer points. Over time, you'll be able to see the humidity patterns that will help you forecast the weather.

M a k e Y o u r O w n A n e m o m e t e r

Dixie cup Anemometer.

Materials
five 3 ounce paper Dixie cups
two straight plastic soda straws
a pin
scissors
paper punch
small stapler
sharp pencil with an eraser
Procedure
Take four of the Dixie cups. Using the paper punch, punch one hole in each, about a half inch below the rim.
Take the fifth cup. Punch four equally spaced holes about a quarter inch below the rim. Then punch a hole in the center of the bottom of the cup.
Take one of the four cups and push a soda straw through the hole. Fold the end of the straw, and staple it to the side of the cup across from the hole. Repeat this procedure for another one-hole cup and the second straw.
Now slide one cup and straw assembly through two opposite holes in the cup with four holes. Push another one-hole cup onto the end of the straw just pushed through the four-hole cup. Bend the straw and staple it to the one-hole cup, making certain that the cup faces in the opposite direction from the first cup. Repeat this procedure using the other cup and straw assembly and the remaining one-hole cup.
Align the four cups so that their open ends face in the same direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) around the center cup. Push the straight pin through the two straws where they intersect. Push the eraser end of the pencil through the bottom hole in the center cup. Push the pin into the end of the pencil eraser as far as it will go. Your anemometer is ready to use.
Your anemometer is useful because it rotates with the wind. To calculate the velocity at which your anemometer spins, determine the number of revolutions per minute (RPM). Next calculate the circumference (in feet) of the circle made by the rotating paper cups. Multiply your RPM value by the circumference of the circle, and you will have an approximation of the velocity of at which your anemometer spins (in feet per minute). (Note: Other forces, including drag and friction, influence the calculation but are being ignored for this elementary illustration. The velocity at which your anemometer spins is not the same as wind speed.)
The anemometer is an example of a vertical-axis wind collector. It need not be pointed into the wind to spin. (Note: This paper cup anemometer will produce a reasonable approximation of circumferential velocity, but should not be used for any purpose other than elementary illustration.)


A play about The Water Cycle
You will love practicing and performing this fun play about the water cycle. Simply click on the link above and have fun!